Posted September 29, 2012

Dr silber was my nemisis: the darth vader to my luke skywalker, the voldermort to my harry potter and the authoritarian university president to my anti apartheid and free speech college self. There has been a great disturbance in the Force and I find myself surprising deeply moved by the loss of dr silber. Yes, he tried to expel me from the dorms and then from the university itself for a simple yet charged act of hanging a series of “divest” banners from my dorm window. Yes, he did set the bu police to spy on us protestors. Howard zinn and other faculty had reason to believe their offices were bugged. He zapped me real good at senior breakfast in a carefully crafted trap, into which I stepped. During my two week hunger strike, he brazingly told the daily free press I was having a temper tantrum and that he hoped I died. And when 30 students took over mugar library one night and refused to leave past midnight closing hours–police and tv camera outside–he stuck to the amnesty deal brokered by bu hillel rabbi joseph pollack. He rarely tasted defeat during his tenure but I handed him his most celebrated loss prior to his narrow miss for the massachusetts governorship. He loved the intellectual tussle. He loved people who showed as much chutzpah and courage and conviction as he. He was infuriated when he couldn’t get his own way on his own campus, which was almost never. But deep inside he knew he was giving me and others the best education of our lifetimes, in and out of the class room. And thanks to his over-stepping of boundaries by trying to evict his most persistent campus critic during the mid 1980s, the precedent set in abramowitz vs boston university stands to this day, providing free speech rights to individuals at all private institutions. And when we kicked butt in abramowitz et al vs boston university, dr silber didn’t contest the verdict nor appeal it. Instead, he wrote a letter of recommendation for me to law school. Classy. May he rest in peace and his memory be a blessing. Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from orange

Posted June 9, 2011

Posted June 9, 2011

Posted June 9, 2011

Dear Peoplehooders,

The Jerusalem Post apparently likes solar power. Coming in at number 26 on their 50 most influential jews on the planet list, i was pleased to use the platform to promote solar power and Jewish values. Click here for more. Jon stewart, natalie portman and bar rafaeli are right behind me…

Posted April 28, 2011

thanks for your patience, as life and work and mission and everything takes over.

I am pleased to report that the official launch of israel’s first commercial solar field will be at kibbutz ketura the late afternoon of june 5th. for an invite, email history@aravapower.com.

this evening we launched the sneak peak of my first photo exhibition, “The Ketura Years: Part One,” to dedicate the new space, 3rd floor, at Present Tense, in Jerusalem. The exhibit is dedicated to the memory and spunk of Michelle Samson z”l. we will officially launch the exhibit after Shavuot.

It Takes Teamwork To Harness the Sun’s Energy

Letter to the Editor

One of the great contributions of kibbutz life is the notion of collective struggle and accomplishment. Missing from your otherwise lovely December 10 article, “Solar Panels To Bloom in the Negev as Israel Embarks on a Green Revolution,” was any acknowledgment that the creation of the solar industry in Israel and the leadership of the Arava Power Company specifically has been a collective journey of a world-class team of dreamers and doers.

Besides myself, the co-founders and leadership team of the Arava Power Company include David Rosenblatt, of New Jersey , and Ed Hofland, of Kibbutz Ketura, who officially serve as vice chairman and chairman, respectively, but who each do more than can be captured by this letter. David leads the company’s strategy and successfully negotiated the key strategic deal with Siemens to make the company viable for the long term; Ed has successfully guided the international board of directors, who oversee the management team, led by Jon Cohen, originally from the United Kingdom, and Ira Green, originally from New York, with a staff of 27.

One hundred American, and mostly Jewish, investors gave sustenance to the endeavor during the lean start-up years when few believed we could be successful. Without this collective team effort, and the countless work hours and extensive travel, the idea of solar power for the State of Israel would only remain Ben-Gurion’s dream and not see the light of day.

Because of our leadership team and so many others, the solar revolution is underway in Israel, starting at Kibbutz Ketura.